1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a portable hand-held pleating apparatus of the type adapted to create pleats within any fabric material.
2. Prior Art
Inventors have discovered several industrial methods to create pleats within (1) draperies, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,964 to Ryan (1974), U.S. Pat No. 4,042,155 to Sprong (1977), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,775 to Soto (1979); (2) fabric materials, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,906,441 to Liebeskind (1959), U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,277 to Hibbard (1990), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,056 to Frye (1992); (3) paper, such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,267 to Goodrich (2008); and (4) sheet-like material, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,493 to Kato (2001). All of these inventions are large, bulky and meant mainly for industrial use. All of these differ greatly from the hand-held pleating apparatus described herein where the objective is a compact light-weight pleating apparatus for use by any individual anywhere.
Additionally, inventors have established methods for creating the appearance of pleats within draperies such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,191,665 to Rosenbaum (1965), U.S. Pat. No 4,170,053 to Rosenzweig (1979), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,481 to Martin (2000). These inventions only create an illusion of pleated fabric material and do not provide a method for actually generating uniform pleats within any fabric.
No compact portable apparatuses are known for creating uniform pleats within fabric material. Additionally, there is no known mechanism to aid in the proper wearing of a traditional sari, dhoti, or long scarf where many meters of fabric must be pleated for the garment to be worn.